Three Times a Lady
by Gothic Turtle
Summary: She just wanted somewhere to eat and rest her feet after a long day. Now, she can hardly remember a time without these "nuisances".
1. Where Sore Feet Lead Us

Her feet were sore from a long day of walking, and she hungry too. A late night call from one of nearby friends had lead to the two drinking at said friend's apartment, though she herself hadn't even touched the two and half bottles of wine.

Usually, she detested alcohol. The sheer smell of it was enough to unsettle her stomach. However, years of having a best friend who continuously turn to the substance every time she was dumped had helped younger woman to somewhat gain a resistance to it. She had even found that she had a small (that is, utterly minuscule) flavor for weaker drinks that had been heavily combined with other, non-alcoholic drinks.

But enough of that. She had long since tucked in her good (and passed out) friend in her bedroom apartment, and now wanted nothing more than to rest her feet and grab a quick bite at a cheap, local restaurant. She had spent what little cash she had on her on the cab ride to her friend's place, after she called late crying down the phone about how her "horrid boyfriend" who had done such and such was apparently "deeply emotionally wounded" from the whole ordeal.

Honestly, the things she does for friendship!

By the time she rounded yet another street corner, she could have sworn her feet were starting to bleed. The curb was starting to look like a very comfortable seat.

However, to her relief, she immediately noticed the bright lights of some hot-spot entertainment area with people swarming to get inside. Raising an eyebrow, She went to investigate. Whatever it was, she hoped they had seats and food. She hadn't eaten all day.

As she neared the large building, she suddenly noticed how tall and bright it was.

'How could I have not noticed this?' she gaped. 'I wouldn't be surprised if you see it for miles!'

It was an oddly shaped building, built to look a giant pint with a red and white stripped straw being pulled down the side, till it stretched to form a rather impressive lighted outside roof leading into the building. From the main entranceway, was a long red carpet with fabric barriers on either side. It was enough to make anyone walking down it feel important.

Yet, she noticed none of these things. What had immediately drawn and kept her attention (after recovering from the sheer size and brightness of it all) was the name emblazed with glowing blue lights on the front. To her absolute astonishment, it read : "House of Mouse"

She shook her head slightly to help regain her thoughts. She had seen the show from time to time when she was a child staying a friend's house, and they couldn't think of anything better to do, but she herself had never watched the series on a regular basis. Though, the important fact was, she knew what the place in front of her was, and she also knew that is wasn't _truly_ meant to be in front her, because it wasn't even meant to be REAL!

'This is utterly ridiculous!' she thought angrily fo r some unknown reason. Who would spend money to build something based off of a cartoon? Then again, the characters entering were starting to become startlingly familiar….

Hunching up her shoulders, she plowed on. At the end of the end, whether she was dreaming or not (and she sincerely hoped she was) she tired and hungry, and if this place provided food and accepted a debit card, than why the hell not try it out? She might as go along with the dream while she had the chance.

Recalling what little information she could on short trip down and across the street, she nearly cursed herself for not having paid more attention to Disney movies in the past. What she did know, though, was to try and not be surprised by anything. Having seen "The Jungle Book" and "Peter Pan" alone she knew she about to bear witness to some rather other-worldly sights.

Surely enough, the moment she stepped through the double doors, she greeted by the sight of a duck in clothing sitting behind the front desk.

"Hel-lo there! How can I help you?" the duck, which she knew to be called Daisy, smiled widely at her. She returned the gesture with her own ghost of a smirk.

"Table for one," she replied curtly, but tone polite enough.

"Sure thing! Hey, I don't thin I've seen here before. Are you new?" Daisy asked. The young woman gave a small shake of the head.

"No."

Daisy eyed her skeptically before turning to view the list of available table.

"If you say so. Oh!" she exclaimed.

"Is there a problem?"

"Oh no just uh…the seating arrangements is all," Daisy smiled nervously at her while hurriedly flicking through random papers on her clipboard. The young woman in front of her raised an eyebrow. Her feet ached more than ever and she eager to just _sit down._

"Are there no tables available?"

"What? OH yes! Yes there it's that um…the tables nearby…." Daisy's voice trailed off, an increasingly panicked expression growing on her odd facial feature. The woman sighed heavily.

"I have no concerns about any neighboring tables. I simply wish to sit down, enjoy a good meal, and leave."

At this news, Daisy no longer looked panicked, but instead rather taken aback. "You don't wanna stay and watch the show?" she asked.

"I have an early morning."

Not going into any further detail, Daisy simply nodded and rattled off the number of her table. With a brisk nod and courteous "Thank you," she walked onwards.

The inside of the building was very different to what she had expected it to be. Yes, she expected loud noise from the entertainment, be she had at leas t expected for the patrons to remain seated! People, animals, and mythological creatures alike were walking to and fro, greeting those they knew well and avoiding those they did not. Everyone was dressed in vivid colors almost as bright as their smiles.

She shuffled slightly, feeling out of place in her dark brown skinny jeans, burgundy heeled pumps and light brown overcoat. Underneath her coat, she wore a simple white turtleneck and black waistcoat. For jewelry, she had nothing but a simple gold ring on her left middle finger, and a pair of dangly silver earrings. Compared to some of the others in the huge building, her outfit was very dark.

Searching the room for her table number, she quickly spotted it near the back, surrounded by tables of even more darkly dressed …individuals. Some she immediately recognized as typical Disney villains from the few movies she had seen in her early days. The rest appeared familiar but could not recall their names.

Gathering up her wits, she strode over to where her table was, with the number clearly displayed on a simple wire stand. She could feel the eyes settling on her as she walked past several tables seating numerous less-than-courteous fellow customers.

At one such table, three well-know villains watched the new girl walked by with interest.

"Whadda ya reckon? Hero or Villain?" one of them asked.

"I don't think she's either. Perhaps just a simple civilian with no real important role," suggest the second.

The third party shook his head. "Nah. Too pretty to be just any ol' person, but definitely NOT a princess."

"So a villain then?"

"Tch. I don't see how it matters."

"'ow bout someone goes over there and finds out eh? Hould be easy enough to talk to."

"Splendid idea! You go."

"Heh! Alright then, I will!" With that, the tall man rose from his seat and slinked over to where the new girl had now seated herself.

She had been snapped out of reading the -rather surprising- menu by a hand banging on her table. Her head jolted up from it former position to look, wide-eyed, at one of the strangest-looking individuals she had ever seen. The man in front of her was very skinny, and wore a ludicrously long black top hat with red sash and ….picture of a skull and crossbones? She certainly had never seen _him _before any Disney movies.

"Hey there princess-" She narrowed her eyes at the assumed insult.

"-Facilier's the name. Might I get yours?"

She blinked. 'Well that was unexpected,' she mused. She wasn't to give out her name to such a stereotypically evil person. That would just be unwise.

"My what exactly?" she asked back. She didn't fail to hide her amusement at his sudden fallen expression. However, his smirk quickly returned, much to her dismay.

"Why, your _name_ of course! Do ya see any _other _pretty little faces round here?"

'Yes, actually. Go bother them!' she wanted to say, yet she couldn't. Too many years of good mannerisms had been pushed into her to say anything even along those lines.

Sighing heavily, she set the menu flat on the table. "You may call me Ms. Bernnet."

His smirk only widened. "Awww, I dun get a full name? Fraid I might do something'?"

She shot him a withering glare. "Hardly." With that, she picked the menu back up and began scanning it once more, ending all chances for further conversation.

Facilier frowned. He wasn't used to being so blatantly dismissed - no-one here was. You always acknowledged when a conversation was over, even if you were annoyed or angry (in which cases you would most likely make up some excuse to leave).

Before he could say anything however, that pathetic excuse for a waiter slipped and stumbled his way over.

"Hyuck! Howdy there! Can I get cha anything?" Goofy hiccupped. Ms. Bernnet nodded and quickly gave him her order. Handing back the menu, Goofy turned to Facilier with a surprised expression.

"Sa-ay, what are you doin' here? Aren't cha supposed at be at table thirteen with Hook and Hades?"

Facilier just waved a dismissive hand and stalked off, leaving behind a very bewildered Goofy.

"So? Verdict?" Hades asked eagerly. Facilier just scowled.

"She's like Maleficent or Grimhilde, but without the nice."

Hades and Hook winced. "Youch"

"So should we do anything?" Hook suggested. Facilier just shook his head.

"Nah, not worth it."

Just a few tables away, were yet more villains watching the entire spectacle with bemusement.

One of them gave a twitch of a smile, not unlike the one Ms. Bernnet herself had given to Daisy.

"Such idiocy," the other clucked disapprovingly. "They simply can't leave a new face alone, can they? She doesn't even look like anything special." Her fellow companion nodded slightly.

"Hmm, yes. Though there does seem something… interesting about this one. I wouldn't be one to dismiss her so quickly Grimhilde."

The scorned queen let out the ghost of a sigh. "Maybe," she agreed. "Though I must confess, it certainly _was entertaining to see Facilier rebuked in such an indirect manner."_

_The fellow witch thought to herself for a moment, before coming up with an idea._

"_Perhaps we should… pardon his rude behaviour," she smirked evilly. Grimhilde mirrored the look._

"_What a splendid idea, Maleficent, so we should."_

_Ms. Bernnet saw the two women before she heard them, and much to her despair, they were heading straight for her table._

'_I suppose a little a peace is too much to ask in a place such as this,' she sighed._

_Once the two had reached the table, the did nothing to catch her attention. Ms. Bernnet was already looking at the pair with an emotionless face._

"_Good evening, may we join you?" Maleficent asked politely. However, the devious glint in her eye betrayed her._

"_If you wish, though I won't be staying long," Ms. Bernnet replied curtly. The two witches sat down automatically but elegantly. Grimhilde cleared her throat._

"_So," she started. "My name is name is Queen Grimhilde."_

"_And I am Maleficent, " Maleficent introduced herself._

"_Ms. Bernnet." She stuck out a hand for the two to shake, which they did._

_Surprisingly enough, Ms. Bernnet had found the nearly pleasant to talk to. Unlike the obnoxious Facilier, they held themselves with the dignity and refinement most people she came across lacked. It was refreshing, talking to people and not feeling as though she being regarded as a snob. For once, she could socialize in a way that pleased everyone._

_They were just getting off of the topic of the two being witchs with different areas of specialty (Maleficent was advanced in spell casting, particularly dark spells and curses. Grimhilde, of course, had a much broader knowledge of potions and enchantments), when the food arrived._

_Well, "arrive" was the only the dignified way to put it. In all actuality, Goofy, had tripped over his own feet, sending Ms. Bernmet's dinner flying through the air. Miraculously, he managed to jump up a catch everything on the plate, looking as perfectly placed as it did before._

_Once the food was (safely) on the table, the two villainesses excused themselves. Ms. Bernnet ate her dinner in peace, not paying much attention to the show or the curious glances her way. She simply ate, paid her check, and left. Her feet were still sore, but walking was nowhere near as painful as it had been when she fist arrived._

_Walking out the door, she contemplated the night's happenings. Yes, she had a surprisingly pleasant time talking to two of Disney's most notorious female villains, but she doubted she would return to the restaurant if given the chance. There had been more than enough strange occurrences that night to last a long time. _


	2. Where Ideas Find US

A week had gone by since what she had referred as 'the experience', and life had moved forward as normal.

She was currently in her office with a young girl by the name of Sarah Diggs. Now Ms. Bernnet was not one in favour of playing favourites, but of all the students her company assigned her, Sarah was a true star for her effort alone. Most of the other children, no matter what the age, saw learning as a temporary bore that they be through with once they became old enough. For this, Ms. Bernnet usually had to take an outstanding amount of time and effort simply to ensure they gave their studies their best shot.

Sarah however...she was different. She was only a young fourth grader, but she was passionate about learning. Sadly though, she could never keep still enough to read an entire page of a textbook. It didn't take Ms. Bernnet long to realise the girl was a kinaesthetic learner. So, Ms. Bernnet set aside the books and papers and instead, used the convenience of the internet to create games and word puzzles. It worked. Before either of them knew it, her grades had soared. Ms. Bernnet knew because the young had come skipping into her office one day waving her report card around like a banner. She very nearly smiled at the girl. The young tutor was more than happy to agree to another term of tutoring the child. It had been by far the most rewarding experiencing she had had yet in her fresh career.

It was during this planned session that Ms. Brennet had noticed a sudden change in the nine-year-old's choice in stationary.

"Well that's certainly quite a change in styles, Sarah," she nodded to the young girl. Sarah blushed and turned her head away.

"P-please don't tell my mom! She doesn't like stuff like this," she begged. Ms. Bernnet quirked an eyebrow upwards.

"Oh? And why might that be?"

Sarah hunched her shoulders and hesitated before speaking again. "She...she says that I'm supposed to be a big girl, and big girls aren't supposed to watch silly cartoons and stuff. She says I need to learn how to be a lady."

Ms. Bernnet was slightly taken aback by this. Though she agreed that a girl could never be too young to learn proper etiquette (she herself had grown up a set list of Does and Don'ts by her parents), telling a child she shouldn't _be_ a child was a completely foreign concept to her.

Ms Bernnet shifted in her seat slightly, but non-too noticeably.

"Well, if that's the case dear, how did you get a hold of...this?"

This time it was Sarah's turn to wiggle like a hooked worm. "I won in our class raffle this morning. I got first place, so I could have chosen the giant chocolate bar, but..." her voice trailed off nervously. Ms. Brennet cleared her throat so Sarah's head snapped towards her.

"Sarah, my dear," she smiled. The girl beamed in return. "-I'm very happy for you, but just between you and me, I think you might want to hide that from your mother. She probably wouldn't be too happy about you having princesses on all of your stationary, would she?"

Sarah's smile faltered a little, but she still looked happy enough.

"Thank you Ms. Brennet, and I will. Um...can I ask you a question Ms. Brennet?"

"Yes dear, of course."

"Who's _your_ favourite princess?"

Ms. Brennet was a bit taken aback by this question. Never had anyone asked her something based on something so trivial as a cartoon. Then again, the person asking _was_ only a nine-year-old girl, so of course she would ask her something like that.

"I don't have a favourite, sweetie," she replied. "I've never seen any of them."

Sarah was shocked. "REALLY? You haven't seen _any_ of their movies? But they're so pretty!"

Ms. Brennet shook her head. When she had been Sarah's age, she hadn't interested in much, especially animated films. Cartoons to her had always seemed so childish, and her parents did nothing to encourage the contrary. So instead, she would spend time organising her bedroom, helping her mother look after her younger brother, and listening to her mother on how a successful young lady held herself and went about her business. She could easily have made time to things like watch cartoons, but she hadn't wanted to. I just wasn't important enough.

Therefore, Ms. Bernnet had no honest alternative but to shake her head.. Sarah gaped at her, but quickly snapped out of it.

"Well, MY favourite princess is Princess Jasmine. She can go flying on a magic carpet, but I also like Mulan even though she's not princess cause-" And that was how they spent the remaining half hour of their session. Sarah quickly stuffed her princess stationary at the bottom of her bag to hide it. Now sooner had she slung the backpack over her shoulder than did mother walk through the door.

"Come along Sarah. Thank you again Ms. Bernnet." The older woman smiled at Ms. Bernnet, but dropped the façade when she turned to face her daughter.

"I expect a full report of what you've accomplished today. I got a call from your teacher telling you won a raffle?" Sarah opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what to say. Much to her relief, Ms. Bernnet was still there to come to her rescue.

"Ah yes, she told me that. She won a giant chocolate bar and gave it to me as a small token of appreciation. Very generous of her, especially compared to other children her age," Ms. Bernnet intervened. Ms. Diggs turned to look at her, and while she did, Sarah mouthed a quick "Thank you!" to her tutor.

With one last nod in Ms. Bernnet's direction, the two were off.

She sat down in her chair and organized the papers on her already neat desk. She tried to focus on the task at hand, but her mind kept wondering back to what Sarah had told her.

'Childish,' she thought. 'That's what her mother had called it.' Ms. Brennet had to agree with her there, everything about Disney was childish and stereotypical. If she had a daughter, she probably wouldn't have approved of her taking such a huge interest in the Disney princesses herself. Then again, restriction without explanation fed curiosity, and her mother had taught her long ago that to be a proper parent, you had to leave options open to your child to avoid any….unsavory situations.

Yet, Sarah was such a lovely girl to teach. Far from rebellious or overly-curious. If their conversation had proved anything about her personality, it was that she enjoyed simple things, like stories of flying carpets and princesses and adventure. Whether the young fourth grader wanted to experience these things herself, Ms. Bernnet had no idea. However, with a mother as grounded as that, she was sure to know such things didn't exist.

At least, that what Ms. Bernnet _had_ thought.

She had not forgotten the 'experience' from a week ago, and had half-heartedly concluded that it hadn't happened. Yes, it seemed real, and yes, she had returned home feeling full and with a slight headache from all the noise, but surely that wasn't enough to prove it had actually happened, surely?

Heaving a deep sigh, Ms. Brennet knew there was only one way to find out. Who knew? If it _was_ where she remembered it to be, then maybe she could get a signature or a photograph of one of the princesses to give to Sarah. She knew she would love that. What young girl wouldn't? To know that all of your favorite heroes actually did exist, and magic was truly out there waiting for her to find it, it would be a dream come true!

'Then again,' she sighed to herself. 'I don't want to get her hopes up.' For all Ms. Bernnet knew, the new information could leave the girl seeking adventure when there was, and coming out empty-handed and bitter with disappointment.

Gathering her belongings, Ms. Bernnet decided that she do it anyway, just simply give the girl a walkthrough of reality before handing her the gift. The only problem was tomorrow was their next study session, and then they wouldn't see each other for another two weeks as Ms. Diggs would have work events that wouldn't spare her the time to drop her daughter off nor pick her up again. She _could _simply put it off until after the two weeks, but she was never one to procrastinate. If this was going to get done, it would best be done sooner rather than later, for no other reason than to avoid any later complications.

So, it was with a heavy heart, she returned to her home, where she would retrace her steps from a week ago.

It had been a week since the strange girl had dined at the House of Mouse, and no-one honestly expected her to turn up again. Simply the aura she gave off was stiff and uninviting, and when she had dismissed Facilier, she had done so in cold manner that was not expected. If that hadn't been strange enough, when Maleficent and Grimhilde had tried to intimidate her with their own cold nature, they found themselves chatting harmlessly with her. Clearly, they were evenly matched in how they treated other.

The two witches had shared with the girl what their professions were, and she hadn't batted an eyelid. They still didn't know what she did for a living, so there was a high likelihood she too was a witch. It would certainly explain her calm and collected nature, as well as her lack of surprise. Though maybe that wasn't the case. It was well known that they were very famous villains in the outer world, so it was almost certain she had heard of and/or seen them previously. Yet, if that had been the case, why hadn't she been afraid? It all made no sense.

Whatever the case was, she had left quickly and early, just like she had insisted, so no-one expected her to be coming back.

That's why Daisy had been so surprised to see the same girl, wearing the same coat, standing in front of her.

"Table for one please."

Daisy nodded and searched the list for any vacant tables listed. Thursdays were one of their busiest days, though they have a patch on the hell Fridays brought.

"Might I ask a rather odd question?"

Daisy jumped up in surprise at the sudden question. Blinking a few times, she gave her an apprehensive look.

"Su-ure, go ahead."

Ms. Bernnet clear throat and spoke as steadily and confidently as ever. "Would Princess Jasmine be present tonight?"

To say Daisy was shocked would an understatement. Why would this seemingly emotionless stranger be asking for the Arabian princess? Did she have something bad planned for her? She did get a along a little _too_ well with Grimhilde and Maleficent last week…

"Pardon me Mrs, but would you like for to repeat the question?"

Daisy was snapped out her thoughts by the human in front of her. She eyed the woman suspiciously.

"What do you want with Princess Jasmine, huh?"

Ms. Bernnet had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes, but explained herself anyway. "I simply wish for her autograph and picture. It's for my student. Her birthday is nearing."

Not for the first time that night, daisy was shocked. "Your student? You're a teacher?"

Ms. Bernnet gave a stiff nod. "Private tutor, actually. Sarah is my most hardworking student, and as it happens, an admirer of Princess Jasmine."

Daisy nodded her head quickly, understanding. She suddenly grew excited at the idea of helping out someone doing a good deed. "And you say it's her birthday present? Well gosh! That's nice of you! Tell you what, You head on over to table nine - which is near the stage - and I'll get what you need! What did you say her name was again?"

"Sarah Diggs, with two g's"

Daisy nodded once more and motioned for one of the penguin waiters to show her to her seat. Just as Daisy had said, it much nearer to the stage than the last time. What she failed to mention, though, was the increase in curious stares and glances. Luckily though, Ms. Bernnet didn't feel that any of these… more vividly dressed patrons would be approaching her.

Oh, how she was wrong!

As though history was trying to repeating itself, a voice spoke up from behind her.

"Excuse me miss?" the voice had an apprehensive ring to it.

Ms. Bernnet shifted in her chair soo she could view the person speaking. "Yes?"

The girl hurried round the table to face the front of her. She couldn't have been more than twelve years old, and wore what Ms. Bernnet had guessed was an old-fashioned dressing gown with a purple-grey jacket. The strange girl stuck out her hand, and Ms. Bernnet took that as a sign to stand up shake it.

"I'm Jane. Jane Darling"

"Ms. Bernnet."

Jane retracted her hand. For a brief moment, insecurity flashed through her eyes, but it instantly vanished as she straightened her back to regain confidence. Ms. Bernnet quirk an eyebrow upwards in curiosity. The small scene did not go unnoticed by Ms. Bernnet, but she chose not to remark on it. For some reason, she was strongly reminded of Sarah.

"My friends and I just wished to welcome you here and apologize for any unpleasant experiences you may have had last week with the villains," she said. Ms. Bernnet nodded, but then felt rather confused.

"I don't recall seeing you last week. How do you know about the villains?" she asked.

Jane shrugged. "News travels quickly here," she smiled. Ms. Bernnet found the corners of her mouth twitching into a tight smirk.

"So I've gathered. Well never mind my problems Miss. Darling, and it was very nice to meet you. You are a lovely young lady. Now, would it be alright for me to continue with my meal…?"

Jane's eyes widened. "Oh! Oh yes! Sorry if was keeping you!" she apologized, flustered. MS. Bernnet raised a hand to signal it was alright and calm her.

"That is quite fine. Have a good evening Miss. Darling."

Jane gave her a broad grin. "You too Ms. Bernnet, and you call me Jane."

With that, Jane waved good bye and scurried off in the direction she had come. Ms. Bernnet sat back in her seat, shocked to find she was grinning slightly. She shrugged but decided not to fight it.

'Perhaps,' she thought to herself. 'If most people here are more like Jane and Maleficent, then I may just begin to enjoy myself.'

As if on cue, and flying elephant with giant ears raced past her table, followed by a flying carpet and pixie.

'Or maybe not.'


	3. Can I just have my food please?

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been away for so long. I've graduated secondary school, moved internationally, and started my first term at uni. Also, sorry this chapter is so long! It's going to be a bit slow getting to the part with the Disney characters in it, but they do appear.

I was also wondering what villains/heros people might want to see, message me your requests or leave it as a review.

And I don't own Disney…. (goes to cry in a corner).

Samantha Diggs was a bitter, _bitter_ woman. Her husband had left her when her daughter was only eighteen months old, and she hated her career in insurance with a passion. She had only taken it because it paid well, and she wanted to provide more for her daughter than her ex's fifty dollars a month ever could. Yet she just didn't have the time to give poor Sarah the quality time she deserved. Whenever she came home from work, she was tired and frustrated, and paid more attention to shaping her daughter into becoming a mature, responsible young woman than a nine-year-old. She scoffed at childish things and kept Sarah away from anything 'too feminine', so as not to be 'influenced into becoming something to simply look at'. When she met her former husband, she had been far too concerned with her looks, and she didn't want her daughter making the same poor decisions that she did.

As a result, she rarely saw Sarah completely at ease when it was just them. What baffled her even further is when she would pick up Sarah from her private tutoring, the girl would be grinning ear to ear and completely relaxed.

Samantha couldn't understand it. She had spoken to her tutor – a young woman by the name of Ms. Bernnet – but she couldn't see how she was so different. Yes, she looked different, and was younger, and therefore probably didn't have children of her own, but they had much in common as well! Similar views and vocabulary (though hers was slightly better, having a PHD in English). They got along like a house one fire, so why did Sarah act so differently around her?

She only wished she knew.

Ms. Berrnet sat upright in her chair as her checked through a mock test Sarah had just completed. As she did so, Sarah read a small picture book on different types of butterflies from her school library.

The young woman had to admit, she was impressed. Sarah had improved drastically from her last term. As such, Ms. Bernnet saw it only as appropriate to reward the girl.

Setting the paper down, she cleared her throat to gain the young girl's attention.

Sarah looked up nervously from her book. Her tutor was done marking her test so had she done badly? Did she score well? Ms. Bernnet was such a hard person to read, to there was no way of knowing just by looking at her.

"Congratulations Sarah. You scored ninety-five percent. Well done." As she said this, her face broke into one of her rare smiles. One of the ones she only kept for only very special occasions.

Sarah gasped. She'd never scored so high on a test before! And to get both a compliment _and_ a smile from her cold teacher was the cherry, icing, and sprinkles on the cake for the young girl. Before she knew what she was doing, she had run round the desk and enveloped the surprised woman in tight hug.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you!" she smiled. Ms. Bernnet detached herself from the girl and shook her head at her.

"No need to thank me dear. It was because you applied time and effort into your learning that you achieved your grade."

Sarah beamed at her. This really was turning out to be a perfect day after all!

As she walked back to her seat, Ms. Bernnet slipped a small piece of paper out from purse. Handing it to her, Sarah noted that it had her name scrawled on it in fancy, flowing script.

"I believe you may want to read this. I would recommend you hide it from your mother though, she mightn't approve of me giving you this."

Confused but interested, Sarah gave Ms. Bernnet a bewildered look before unfolding the parchment. It was a letter.

Ms. Bernnet watched in amusement as the girl's eyes roamed the paper, widening and often re-reading parts as she went along. By the time she had finished, her eyes were the size of saucers and her face had gone white.

"Did you write this?" she asked. Her voice was nearly a whisper.

Ms. Bernnet smirked and shook her head slowly.

"You've seen my handwriting before. Clearly it is not a match."

"W-well…did you get someone else to write it? Like a friend?"

Ms. Bernnet nearly snorted. The only so-called friend she had was a mechanic by the name of Maggie, and her handwriting resembled chicken scratches more than it did actual words.

Judging by her tutor's indignant look, Sarah concluded that that wasn't the case either. So that could only mean….

"So Princess Jasmine is real? Like, from the movie real?" Sarah was excited now, and couldn't physically sit still in her seat even if she wanted to.

"Indeed. Though I warn you Sarah, life is no fairytale. Princess Jasmine lives in a world of her own, with flying carpets and genies. You live this world, and the only way forward in this world is through hard work, perseverance, compromise, and often cunning."

Sarah nodded her head in understanding.

"Oh I know that Ms. Bernnet! Princess Jasmine had to be sneaky to distract Jafar and save Aladdin, and Mulan had to cut her pretty hair to join the army and save China. Tiana too had to work hard for a long time to get her restaurant. Actually, Tiana's one of my new favorites! Ah, I mean Tiana _is._" Sarah grinned wider, as if correcting one's own grammar was something to take pride in.

Ms. Bernnet was surprised. She didn't think that Disney taught kids life lessons like that. She'd always viewed the company's movies as mere money-making devices to entice young children into badgering their parents into buying the DVDs of the films.

'Perhaps I've not given the entire business the full credit it deserves,' she pondered. Looking back at Sarah – who was re-reading the letter once more –she almost felt a pinch of regret at having been so dismissive before.

Then again, it _was_ all children's films, and she had never truly been a child. Not even at Sarah's age.

"Ms. Bernnet?"

was snapped from her thoughts at the suddenly timid voice.

"Does this mean you're friends with Princess Jasmine?" Sarah asked her, eyes still wide.

Ms. Bernnet quickly shook her head.

"I never met her. I had simply asked Daisy to do me the favor of gaining a signature from her on my behalf."

Sarah didn't look put-out that Ms. Bernnet had not met her idol. If anything, she seemed even more fascinated at the fact she had spoken to the ever-famous Daisy Duck.

All further conversation was cut off when Samantha Diggs swung the door to the small office open and marched in.

"Time to go Sarah. I've reserved a table at a restaurant with a college of mine, so we have to hurry." As usual, her voice was smooth but authoritive. It was the voice of determined business woman with little time to waste.

Sarah jumped off her chair and threw everything into her backpack – including the precious letter from Princess Jasmine. Flashing Ms. Bernnet one last bright, admiring smile, she hopped out the door ahead of her mother.

Once alone, Ms. Bernnet tidied away all of the papers from her session with Sarah, making sure everything when into its appropriate place.

Was just been her, or had Ms. Diggs been glaring at her just now?

She chose to brush off the thought. She knew the older woman well enough that if it was any pressing importance, she would have addressed it.

With her desk once again cleared and ready to be worked on once more, she went to see if her last and final student for the night had arrived.

Sure enough, sat alone in the middle of the waiting room, was fourteen-year-old boy booing his head in tune to his iPod.

Experience had taught Ms. Bernnet that neither clearing her throat nor standing there till he notices would work. Henceforth, she walked quickly and swiftly to where he was tapped him none-too-gently on the shoulder.

He didn't even look surprised as he turned to face her. It was completely routine for them.

"Heya Ms!" he grinned. Ms. Bernnet had to resist the temptation to roll her eyes. If only he was enthusiastic about his studies as he was about he was with listening to his iPod, he might not be one of her more difficult students.

"It's time to work Mr. Bate." She held out her hand for his iPod, and he handed over wordlessly. As said before, this was all part of a routine. It was as solid and unchanging as clockwork.

Two hours passed slowly for Ms. Bernnet after that. Unlike young Sarah, Michel Bate was as uninterested in schoolwork as Ms. Bernnet had been in princesses. His reluctance to do much work set Ms. Bernnet's nerves on end, and pushed her patience to the limit. Rude, inappropriate comments had her gritting her teeth and wishing she could – just once – break all social rules enforced on her and just forcibly shut the damn brat's mouth up with scotch tape.

Not second after the clock on the wall struck nine pm, did Michel jump and toss all his books and loose papers into his tattered school bag.

"Well see ya next week Ms! Try to have fun without me!" he grinned mischievously.

Ms. Bernnet so badly wanted to say that she could far too easily enjoy herself without his presence, but bit her tongue. She was a lady, and lady never said such rude things to people – even children – they worked with. Supposing she could consider herself working 'with' Michel and not against him. She would just have to tell herself this repeatedly.

Michel all but ran out of the office, coming dangerously to slamming Ms. Bernnet's door into the wall.

Sighing in sure relief, she went about her typical after-work tidy up, unable to stop herself from remembering Sarah's overjoyed reaction a mere two hours earlier.

"If only Mr. Bates studied like her," she sighed to herself. It was a nice thought.

Desk cleared and files tucked away in her suitcase, Ms. Bernnet turned to exist – to find Michel leaning against the door frame of her office.

"Mr. Bates," she nearly cried in surprise. "You were meant to have left precisely twenty minutes ago."

Michel shrugged, as if being a smart-mouthed fourteen-year-old out at nine twenty at night was no big deal.

"Eh. My mom called, said her car had broken down. I'd told her I'd get a lift from you."

Ms. Bernnet's eyes narrowed dangerously. Michel wisely took a step back, having never seen such an expression on the cold woman's face before.

"I'm afraid I cannot comply with such a rude demand Mr. Bates. Not only because I did agree to do such – and thus have no obligation to do so – but also due to the fact I do not own a car. If you must know – and I know you will ask – I walk to work."

Michel's face paled.

"W-well I can't call her back! I don't have any credit on my phone!"

Ms. Bernnet felt her knuckles whiten around the handle of her briefcase.

"Then we have no choice. Follow me. You may use my private home phone." She didn't own a phone in her office, nor did any of her colleges.

Michel scrambled to get out of the enraged woman's way as she marched passed him. Turning off the lights and locking her office door, she existed the building. A large number of her colleges gave her back strange looks as she escorted the young boy out of the building. Parents were usually the ones picking up their kids during the weekdays, and Ms. Bernnet wasn't exactly known for doing others favors. Still, no-one chose to say anything to her.

Ms. Bernnet's apartment was a ten minute walk away from her office, and throughout that stretch of time neither the tutor nor the student dared to say anything to each other, for fearing of setting the already on-edge woman off.

Once they had arrived, Michel couldn't help but note that, for all of Ms. Bernnet's prim and properness, her home was an absolute wreck. There was no mess anywhere to be seen – good gracious no – but it was undoubtedly hideous. The paint on the walls was an unflattering shade of grey, and the outdated patterned carpet look like it belonged in a nineteen-sixties retirement home than a young woman's apartment. And the kitchen!

'Can I even _call_ that thing a kitchen?' Michel wondered. It was even more outdated than the carpet, and barely big enough to fit Ms. Bernnet, never mind a chair and table, like most normal eating areas. Michel could only assume she ate in front of the TV every night… that is, if she had a TV. Hell, she didn't even have a TV stand! Only two rickety old side tables stacked on either side of a worn, red fabric couch.

Michel whistled. "Je-sus Ms! They must not pay you a lot at the agency, huh?"

Ms. Bernnet didn't even acknowledge the remark as she went to set down her briefcase.

"The phone is in the kitchen on the wall next to the fridge. Please explain to your mother that I did _not_ agree to this." Her voice was firm. The last part had not been a request.

Three minutes later had Michel stretching the phone cord into the living room.

"My mom wants to know what your address is."

Ms. Bernnet rattled off her answer from her place on the couch. Half a minute later, Michel strode out of the closet-sized kitchen. A strange mix of annoyance and guilt was evident in his expression.

"My mom's an hour away, plus she's still waiting for the tow truck to come get her and her car, it doesn't look like she'll be getting here anytime soon."

Ms. Bernnet wanted to tear the book she had been reading in half. How, just _how_, did she find herself in this mess? If only that boy had a few manners, he wouldn't be here right now!

Instead of ranting (like she wanted to), she sighed heavily and put down her book.

"I suppose it can't be helped. Have you eaten?

"Nope."

had to use almost all of her inner strength not to groan and roll her eyes. She did, however, purse her lips.

"I'm afraid I do not have food in fridge, so I cannot be of any help." Seriously though, she couldn't help but wonder why he didn't eat before going to their tutoring session. It had been late enough when they started.

Michel rummaged around in his background (which he'd on the hallway floor when he first came in) and pulled out a few dollar bills.

"How 'bout a takeout, eh Ms? I'll pay for most of it!"

Ms. Bernnet turned so she could squeeze her eyes shut without being seen.

Wordlessly, she went to fetch the number of the only restaurant she afford.

They were having a great time! Hades and the rest of the villains were anyway. Mickey had agreed to let them take over the entire House of Mouse just for that night, just as he did every year. They had to agree not to try anything big (like taking it over good) for the rest of that year, but that was okay with them. They had total control for one night, and they could still antagonize the heros for the rest of the year (to an extent of course).

As it was, Hook was manning the reception. On any ordinary day, it would be Daisy manning the desk, but it was _their_ night, and at that moment, Hades was the one in charge. No-one was going to let Jafar take Hook's position, after he had driven away almost all of the patrons the first time. And honestly, where was the fun in that?

Hook, who had been harassing a rather irritated Princess Ariel and Prince Eric, jumped when the phone beside him started ringing.

"What?" He snapped into the receiver. Ariel and Eric took the chance to make a break for a clear table.

"I'm calling to find if you do take away?" Hook pulled the receiver away from him and eyed it warily. The voice on the other end sounded oddly familiar, but he couldn't place a name or face to it. Shaking it off, he waved over Hades.

"Do we do take away?"

Hades shrugged. How would he know? He only ran the place for an hour every year.

"Eh. Sure, why not?" Might as well make a few extra bucks. He could even send Shan-Yu to deliver it, just to scare the poor fool for the fun of it.

She had been smart enough to ask how much the food was before confirming that she did indeed want it delivered. Luckily for her she had just enough to pay for both her and Michel's food. She was still taking the kid's five dollars though.

Precisely twenty one minutes later, her buzzer, uh…. Buzzed.

Went she answered the door, a tall, overly-muscled Chinese man was taking up her doorway. She hadn't accidentally ordered Chinese food had she?

"Your order." The man growled. Ms. Bernnet couldn't help but notice how odd he looked, with grey skin, yellow eyes, and dressed in what resembled animal skins. She chose not to remark on it though. 'Never ask stupid questions, or questions you don't want answers to.' That had been one of many life's rules her parents had taught her.

Without even so much as a 'thank you', she reached to take the plastic bags, only to have them moved out of her reach.

"You looked familiar," the strange man commented. Ms. Bernnet start to feel her eyebrows twitch. She tired, hungrey, and in the mood to play 'hey-do-I-know-you?' game.

"I don't recall having ever met you before," she said. She would like to think she'd remember meeting a man dressed like…. hell, she couldn't even guess!

Once again, she reached for the bags of food, only to have moved out of her reach _again_. It was beginning to get frustrating.

"No, I've definitely seen you before," he told her. His voice was rough and held no room for argument. Ms. Bernnet felt – no, _knew_ – that if this little escapade carried on, lady or not, she couldn't be held responsible for her actions.

"Well I'm very sorry I can't recall our meeting. Now good _night_ sir!" With one swift motion of the hands, she had snatched the cheap plastic bags out of grip and shoved the required amount of cash at his chest. Before Shan-Yu could even react, the door had slammed in his face the familiar sound of locks clicking could be heard on the other side of the door.

Shan-Yu's first reaction – when the reality of what had just happened sunk in – was anger. His hands balled into fist around the money Ms. Bernnet had shoved at him. What he wanted to do was break the door down and make the infuriating woman pay for her insolence, but he knew that would accomplish. Besides, he had gone up enough steps to realize that there were a lot of people living nearby, and the sign of anything going wrong could easily leave him being outnumbered should a fight occur.

But he was going to talk to the other villains. He _knew_ he'd seen that woman before, he just had to remember where.

{}

And that's it for now! I promise to have the next chapter up soon. I don't realy think I did a good job of keeping Shan-Yu in character, but tell me what you think. People who leave reviews will get free Chinese food!... maybe. ;)


	4. I just want to sleep, really!

"Wait wait wait! Are you _sure_ that's what she looked like?"

Roughly half of the villains had crowded round Shan-Yu after he got back, wanting to know how badly he had scared the unfortunate soul that he had been delivering to. Naturally, the hadn't expected him to describe the woman that had come by and managed a nice little chat with Grim Hilde and Maleficent.

"Yes, I thought she looked familiar," the Hun grunted. Hades taped his chin before grinning evilly at Hook.

"Oi Hook! You still got that dame's address?"

Hook flashed him an equally sinister smile as he held up the paper with scribbled addressed like it was trophy.

Turning back to crowd of no-do-gooders, Hade's smile widened.

"Guys and gals, 'ow about we give our lil' friend a surprise visit after this eh?" A chorus evil chuckles and snort rung out from the group …expect from Grimhilde, Maleficent, and Shan-Yu. They just stared at the group of what they perceived to be idiots with looks of contempt.

Michel's mother had arrived soon after they had finished their meal. Ms. Bernnet didn't have to ask if she really was Michel's mother, because no sooner had she opened her front door, the plump woman stormed into her apartment, fists balled and face red with suppressed rage.

"_YOU_" she hissed at her son. "_GET OUT" _Her eyes had widen at the sight of him cowering in the corner. Mrs. Bate did indeed look like a mad woman.

Michel scooted quickly but carefully around his mother, but not quick enough. With one swift swing of the arm, the infuriated Mrs. Bate managed to give her son a ringing slap on the back of the head as he existed.

Throughout this rather entertaining scene, Ms. Bernnet looked on in a mixture of amazement and fear (and if she would be honest with herself, she also held the smallest touch of admiration for Mrs. Bate's ability to scare someone stiff).

Once Michel had bolted out of the apartment, Mrs. Bate turned to Ms. Bernnet with a happy, but apologetic look on her face. Now Ms. Bernnet was just freaked out. How can someone just switch moods like that?

"I'm so sorry for my son! He's been acting up more and more ever since his dad had to start working overseas! I really don't know what to do him at this point," she sighed.

Ms. Bernnet suddenly felt rather uncomfortable. Never – throughout her entire twenty-three years of living – had anyone with the exception of her brother opened up to her. What should she do? The woman suddenly looked so lost, and this awkward silence only seemed to be getting longer.

Clearing her throat, Ms. Bernnet decided to just wing it, all reliance on plans and organization put to the side for now.

"I – I see. Perhaps…. perhaps you should send him ….." She wanted to say 'military school' but was truly frightened about angering the woman again.

While she was thinking, Mrs. Bate watched her in curiosity.

"Maybe I could take him to Disneyland Paris."

The unexpected interruption nearly caused Ms. Bernnet to jump. Nearly.

"Paris?"

Mrs. Bates nodded, a small smile starting to adorn her aging features.

"Yeah. It's nearby where my husband's working, and ever since Michel was a kid he wanted to go to Disney World, but this seems like a better compromise. This way, he'll get to see his father too!" The older woman was smiling widely now.

She patted Ms. Bernnet roughly on the back as she walked out of the apartment. With one final "Thank you, he'll make it up to you!" she was out the door.

Ms. Bernnet sighed, looked around her now empty apartment, and allowed herself to collapse back onto her sofa. Not giving a second thought as to the empty take-away dishes piled up in her kitchen, she quickly fell asleep.

Mickey was beyond relieved when the club shut down for the night. As promised at the beginning of the night, the villains handed Mickey the key to the club after locking up.

"Uh, thanks fellas! Good night," he said to the group before him.

"No problem Mick. After all, we had _fun_ didn't we guys and gals?" Hades grinned. All of the villains behind him either grinned evilly or chuckled.

Mickey sighed, having long since gotten used to the villains' behavior. Not wanting to stick around in their company for much longer, he turned on his heels and existed the scene as quickly as physically possible.

Only once Mickey was out of earshot did any of the criminals say anything. As it turned out, it was Grimhilde that was the one to start the conversation.

"Hades," she addressed him. "Are we going to stand here like fools all night, or are we going to leave?"

Hades' evil smile never faltered. "I think you're forgetting something babe. Remember we were going our little friend a small visit?" Of course he was referring to Ms. Bernnet, the woman that came to the House of Mouse only twice. Why so many of the villains would want bother such an unresponsive woman was beyond Grim Hilde's understanding. The wicked stepmother sent Maleficent a withering look, to which the fairy just shook her head. Sometimes it felt like they were only ones who had the brains they were born with.

"If I may intrude - ," Malificent started. " – Might I ask why bother? I spoke directly with the woman upon her first visit, and must warn you that if you are hoping to get any form of extreme reaction from her, you will most certainly be disappointed."

Several of the villains scowled at her for putting a damper on their fun.

"Well if you don't like it, you go home!" Hook shouted at them. Maleficent rolled her eyes before disappearing in a puff of green flames and smoke.

Hades huffed and turned to Hook.

"You still got the dame's address?"

Ms. Bernnet was awoken from her sleep by a small scuffling sound. Rubbing her eyes, she silently cursed herself for being such a light sleeper.

Blinking slowly, she looked around the small living areas for the source of the scuffling.

What she saw was a room filled to the brim with Disney villains.

She rubbed her eyes again.

They were still there.

"Hmm, it would appear I'm still sleeping."

To her shock, every character in the room started hysterically laughing.

"I wouldn't call this a dream, dear. More like a living nightmare!" a woman sitting next to Ms. Bernnet cackled. Ms. Bernnet forced herself not to look startled. Years of training with her mother to keep her reactions in check were being put to the test.

Calmly and slowly, Ms. Bernnet turned herself to fully face the woman that had spoken to her.

"My apologies for my apartment being in such a state. Might have your name miss?"

Instantly, all laughter stopped. All eyes were now staring at her like she had just lost her mind.

"It's Cruella _darling._ How can you not know this?"

Ignoring the question, Ms. Bernnet stood up straight and surveyed the room once more, making sure to look each villain in eye as she did so.

"Might I ask what brought about this…. unexpected visit?"

Jafar chuckled lightly at the woman's forced mannerisms.

"Why, we simply wanted to pay a visit to the newest customer of the House of Mouse. To …. _formally introduce_ ourselves."

Ms. Bernnet had to suppress a groan. She mentally cursed herself for not seeing this coming. Honestly, calling ordering take away from a should-be fictional restaurant? How could she be so stupid?

'Thank goodness my parents can't see me now,' she assured herself. Clearing her throat, tried her best to sound commanding and unfazed.

"Thank you for the thought, but unfortunately introductions won't be necessary. I've no desire of returning to that establishment."

Jafar pretended to look crestfallen. "Oh? We didn't scare you away, did we?" Numerous villains smirked triumphantly around him. Ms. Bernnet sucked in a small breathe and gathered all of the patience she could muster.

"Not at all sir. I simply find your company undesirable."

Now this wiped the smile right off the vizier's smug face. All over the room, mouths collectively dropped open in shock. How dare this little _girl_ insult them to their face? And when she was surrounded as well! Clearly she was no smarter than those dim-witted princesses!

"WHY YOU LITTLE-"

"If you intend to shout and get upsest, you are welcome to leave."

Jafar griped his snake staff tightly. All around him villains were glaring murderously at the seemingly unaffected woman in front of them. Cruella, who had previously been sitting, stalked over to where the front door was.

"Maleficent was right, this was a waste of time!"

One by one, all the villains in the room trickled out. All that was left were Jafar, Hades, Hook, Grim Hilde, Shan-Yu, and Ms. Bernnet. Shan-Yu was the first to speak.

"Can I leave now?" He had been the entire time he had been there, and had only in the hopes of scaring the woman for her earlier impatience with him.

Jafar nearly snapped at him, but stopped himself short. The Hun could just as easily snap _him_ as he could at him.

"Go ahead," he growled. Without another word, the Chinese man left.

"You insolent little brat!" Jafar hissed. "Do not know who I am, you stupid child?"

Ms. Bernnet's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Sir, I my not know who you are, but I assure I do not particularly _care_. I will _not _tolerate being insulted in my own home! Now as I said before, you are welcome to leave."

For a few seconds, Jafar stood there, his face slowly turning red. Wordlessly – but wanting to shout _so much_ – he left, making sure to slam the door closed on his way out.

Taking this as their excuse to go, Grimhilde, Hades, and Hook made to exist. Like Jafar, Hook didn't say anything to Ms. Bernnet as he passed her. Hades however, being the comedian that he was, couldn't do the same.

"Well nice seein' ya babe. Oh and a word of advice: try hiring a decorator. This place could use a little sprucin' up."

Ms. Bernnet acknowledged him with a curt nod. "I'll certainly consider it. Good night sir."

The last to leave was Grimhilde.

"My condolences for being subjected to my companions' stupidity. I assure you it's not their fault – they were merely born like that."

The corners of Ms. Bernnet's mouth twitched up into a small smile. It was past midnight and she couldn't find the strength to hide al of her reactions anymore.

"I see. Thank you and good night."

With that, Ms. Bernnet was alone again. Slumping against her door, she felt drained of all of her energy.

"Well aren't I popular tonight?" she whispered to herself as she drifted off to sleep for the last time that night.


	5. You don't say?

Hiya, I've been updating a lot lately, I know, I'm just really having fun writing this! I'm a bit concerned about keeping the villains in-character, so feel free to flame me about it if need be.

Oh, to petitprincess – I'm trying to make Ms. Bernnet neither evil or good, just cold and strict.

When Ms. Bernnet woke up the next morning, she was _not_ in the best of moods. Her body was sore from sleeping in such an awkward position, her clothes were wrinkled, and worst of all, she had slept in when today of all days she had to pay her rent!

Once that final fact had dawned on her, she grabbed her handbag and was out her door. Her landlord had a specific time that all residents had to pay their rent by – not because he was a busy man. He was just an asshole. Ms. Bernnet was well within her right to panic.

Not sparing a second thought to her crumpled outfit, she practically flew down the stairs to where the landlord's apartment was and knocked loudly.

The man that answered the door was a rather comical sight to behold. Every time Ms. Bernnet saw him he would be puffing on a cheap cigar and wearing white tank over his bear belly with numerous unidentifiable stains.

As her mind had played over the events of last night, it suddenly struck her how much a good Disney villain he would be. Of course, he would be the only one who would be able to scare her with threats of kicking her out. Not that she lived her 'home', but where else would she find someplace so cheap _and_ close to her work?

"Are you just going to stand there all day or not? Cause I got things to do!" he snapped, cigar still balanced in his mouth. Ms. Bernnet jumped, having been shaken from her revere.

"M-my apologies sir! I've brought you my rent for the month." She fished around in her bag before pulling out an envelope. He grunted, snatched the envelope out of her hands, and slammed the door in her face.

Ms. Bernnet heaved a sigh of relief. Now she could prepare for the coming week's work in peace.

Monday had rolled round rather quickly for everyone. Ms. Bernnet was lost in a haze of managing tutoring times and session plans. What's more, her brother had called her the night before and said that he was going to drop by – whether she liked it or not. And the best part? He wouldn't tell her when, so as to 'surprise' her when he knocked on her door.

As for Mickey, he was overjoyed at being able to open the House of Mouse again. In his opinion, it was the best job ever – he loved it! Plus there probably wouldn't be a lot of villains that night, seeing as every year they tended to leave the House of Mouse alone for a short while after running it. All's the better, if asked Mickey.

An hour before opening saw Mickey trying to decide what cartoons to play as the rest of his employees trickled in and start their jobs. Among those employees was the one and only Daisy Duck.

Like Mickey, Daisy loved her job – the only downside was having to deal with the villains in the club. Naturally, she put them the back of the club – where it was darker and away from the heroes. So of course she hated it when every year, they took control of the club and therefore, her job. Daisy shivered as she recalled how Hook had handled being the receptionist merely two days ago.

Shaking her head of the memories, she tried to focus on making sure everything was set up for tonight's work. List of reserved tables? Check. Chart for keeping track of who sat were during the night? Check. Phone with list of emergency contacts beside it? Check. Then something caught Daisy's eye.

'What's this?' she thought. Next to the phone was a small piece of torn paper with an scribbled address on it. Underneath was what looked like a list of meals that Daisy knew they served.

"I wonder who this belongs to," she pondered out loud. The handwriting wasn't hers; that she could tell. But who else would be taking calls from behind the desk, unless…..

Suddenly, Daisy didn't feel so good.

"Hey Mickey? MICKEY!"

Mickey could hear his name being shouted from across the building. It sounded like a panicked Daisy. Concerned as to what send the female into such a frenzy, Mickey rushed out to what was wrong.

"I'm here I'm here! What's going on?"

Minnie and Donald had been caught up to Daisy first and were listening as she rattled on and on about something Mickey couldn't pick.

"Uh-oh," Minnie frowned.

"Uh-oh? What's 'uh-oh'?"

Minnie turned to tell Mickey, but Daisy beat her to it.

"THIS! I found this on my desk! Someone must have called on Friday and order a delivery from Hook because they gave him their address!"

Mickey gulped. This was _really_ bad! There was no telling what they could've done to some poor, unsuspecting civilian! But then again, there was one thing Mickey could console himself with.

"I… I'll go see if this person's alright after the show, but I wouldn't worry too much. If this an address for someone from the real world, then Grimhilde and Maleficent wouldn't have let them do anything to

big."

The three didn't look convinced, but with the club about to open, there wasn't much they _could_ do.

Ms. Bernnet had been home for a total of six minutes when a light knocking on her door alerted her of a visitor.

"Chris," she groaned. When he said he would surprise her, she hadn't thought it would be so soon.

Opening the door, she was met with a shock. Standing in her doorway was not Chris, but tall, cloaked figure.

"Ms. Bernnet, a pleasure to meet you again. You do recall our meeting, correct?"

Ms. Bernnet nodded and moved to allow the green fairy into her home.

"Of course. Your name is Maleficent, if I recall correctly. Please, come in. Would you like some tea?"

Maleficent had to bend a little to fit in the doorway, but once in, she gave the small apartment a disapproving look.

"If it would be no trouble. My purpose here however, is to discuss some facts with you mightn't be aware of. Regarding my …fellow villains and their visit the previous Friday."

Ms. Bernnet kept the look of confusion off her face as she motioned for older character to welcome herself to a seat. She chose to stand.

Ms. Bernnet continued the conversation from the kitchen. "I see. I hope this has nothing to do with my insulting the man with the turban. I'm afraid didn't catch his name," she called.

Maleficent gave the subtlest smile at the shorter woman's description of Jafar. She could tell she was trying to be polite.

"Not at all, though it take some persuasion to stop him from seeking vengeance. He has never been one to well to insults. No, I felt the need to tell you of a little rule that we toons have in our world. Something that could be of great importance to you."

Ms. Bernnet raised an eyebrow as she passed the fairy her tea. A rule for Disney characters? What on earth it be, and more importantly, why should it concern her? She nothing like the happy, brightly-coloured characters she had seen, nor the scheming villains that deliberately looked for trouble to cause.

"I see. Carry on."

Maleficent sipped her tea before doing so.

"Well," she started. "As you are aware, there are two kinds of 'worlds' as it is. Your world – the 'real' world – and my world, the world of Disney. Because of the stark differences between our worlds, there are certain regulations put in place so as not to disturb the natural order of things for the inhabitants of either worlds. One of these regulations, as it is, is not to involve ourselves directly in the lives of 'real' people."

Ms. Bernnet nodded slowly, showing she understood everything said so far.

"I think I understand. In other words, what your acquaintance did earlier this week is – in a way – forbidden?"

"Quite, but there is more. Should the case arise that someone from your world starts to regularly show themselves in your world, after a given time they are consider to be a part of our world, to a certain degree."

Ms. Bernnet's eyes widened in shock, but she quickly righted herself.

"I- I see. So I must stop both interacting with those in your world, and going to the House of Mouse to avoid any complications?"

"Precisely."

"Well then, I am perfectly willing to comply. I had no intention of returning to the establishment in any case, though I appreciate your efforts in taking the time to inform me of such."

"It is quite al-"

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Both women jumped and spun to face a rather out of breath Mickey Mouse.

"You…" he panted, jabbing a finger in Maleficent's direction. "You…leave…. her…alone!" With that, he fell back into a sitting position, still trying to catch his breath.

Ms. Bernnet and Maleficent exchanged startled glances.

"At what point do you think I'll stop having unexpected visitors?" she asked the fairy.

"At this rate, never. You have my sympathy."

Both turned to face the giant mouse still sitting in Ms. Bernnet's hallway. His face was less red now, and his breathing had slowed.

"I….you….she…" a look of pure bafflement with written across his face. Maleficent took a small step towards him.

"Mr…ah, _Mouse_, I must inform that I was not here to be the cause of any distress to Ms. Bernnet here. I find her company twice as enjoyable as any of the buffoons at your club. I was simply informing her of the possible consequences should she continue returning to your restaurant."

Now Mickey was truly taken aback. His breathing had evened out now, so he had no problem talking normally.

"Oh! Ah, Okay then! But nothing else happened? I mean, daisy saw your address from Friday and – and Hook–"

"I must be honest with you sir. Hook, among others, felt it necessary to break into my apartment in the early hours of the morning to try and intimidate me. However I can assure nothing came of it. As you can, my apartment is completely intact and I am unharmed."

Mickey surveyed the room for any damages. As Ms. Bernnet had said, nothing was broken (though he could still see plenty wrong with the place) and there were no visible scratches on her persons. Still, he didn't feel too confident.

"Well… I guess you're right. But here's my number in case they try anything! You can tell with villains after all!"

"_Ah-hem._"

"Yes, Maleficent, I was talking about you too," Mickey glared at her. He pulled a conveniently placed business card from his pocket. Ms. Bernnet briefly wondered if always carried spares with him, or if was another one of those toon things.

Either way, she had no intention of finding out.

Okay, I know! Not the best chapter, but I'm trying to make it so that each chapter tells you a little bit about Ms. Bernnet 's character.

I know I put this under the category of 'Romance' as well as humor, but I'm not entirely sure who I want to pair her up with yet, so I'm open to suggestions.

Next chapter….a visit from Ms. Bernnet's brother! See if you can guess what he's like!


	6. Oh brother!

Just wanted to say thank you to **something-i'll-remember** and **Reubenizadorables625**! I'm really glad you guys like this story so far, I'm really flattered!

It had been almost a week following Maleficent's visit and having her apartment being broken into. If Ms. Bernnet was being honest, she would admit that the sudden quiet was a bit unsettling – like the calm before the storm.

She repeatedly told herself this was because her brother still had yet to arrive for his 'surprise' visit, something for which she was extremely grateful. Because of those villains having kept her up that horrid Friday night, she had slept half the following Saturday away. By the time Sunday night had rolled around, she had only just finished cleaning up the mess Michel had caused, removed the lingering smell of smoke Cruella and few other villains had left behind, and completed only half of her week's work. Sure, she got it done in record time the next day, but the precious routine she had set in place had been broken! She _despised_ it whenever something disrupted her weekly flow.

She had thrown away Mickey's number almost immediately after he left, and the one she had gotten from Daisy that she had used to order the take-out. Ms. Bernnet had firmly decided to take Maleficent's advice and cut all ties with the world of Disney. There had been no should-be-fictional characters turning up at her door at all hours of the morning, so she assumed she was in the clear.

'From now on, the only cartoons I want to see are two-dimensional drawings on stationary sets,' she told herself.

Of course, she should have known things wouldn't have been so easy.

It was a Friday night at the House of Mouse, the most popular night of week for the club. Heroes, villains, and sidekicks alike were cramped into club, much to the distress of the staff. It wasn't as though they disliked the business or their popularity – if anything, each and every worker there regarded it as a smack in the face towards Pete, who _still_ would look for reasons to shut them down.

No, what they found distressing was not time management, nor was it providing entertainment to stratify the large, extremely diverse audience. The true cause of their concern lay with the seating arrangements. As so many more people came on Fridays, combined with the fact they only had so many table – lead to having to combine parties that came by. Often, it was easy enough for Daisy – heroes sat with heroes and villains sat with villains. The only real problem was remembering who got along with who, and who sat with who when it came to being served. It was more than just running a restaurant; it often meant keeping track of the patron's personal lives.

As it was, this Friday night was not too different than any other Friday night at the House of Mouse. Ms. Bernnet had not turned up the night before, which lead Maleficent to conclude she had taken her advice, and Mickey to worry if the villains really _had _scared her away, and that she had simply calmed down before he had reached her apartment the previous Sunday.

Naturally, Mickey being Mickey, he wouldn't rest until the matter was resolved - in his mind at least.

'Maybe if I talk to her, she won't be so scared?' he reasoned. But then he shook his head as he dismissed the thought. 'Naw, she'll just say the same thing she said before. I gotta get someone nice, someone who she wouldn't feel intimidated by and can open up to.' The first three names to come to his mind were Cinderella, Aurora, and Snow White. However he knew that if Ms. Bernnet got along so well with the like of Maleficent, Aurora probably wouldn't be the best choice. Nor would Cinderella or Snow White, as they were a bit too ….little-girlish compared to the tutor. Then it struck him. Honestly! How could he not of thought of _her_ first?

Fairly confident he was asking the right person, he went to go find her. He just hoped she wouldn't mind leaving her dinner behind.

The book Ms. Bernnet was reading had lost her interest long ago. The only reason she continued to read was because she knew if she put it down, she would not be picking it back up any time soon, and she was never one to leave something half unfinished. It was unladylike.

Thankfully, she found an excuse to put it away by when she heard the familiar knocking on her door.

'How lie Chris to pick so late to drop by. I can't even bring myself to be surprise anymore,' she mentally sighed. However – once again – the person on the other side of the door was not her brother. Instead, it was an Arabian-looking girl with huge eyes, ludicrously long hair, and dressed in an all blue, somewhat inappropriate outfit.

She hadn't a clue who the damn girl was.

"May I help you?" she asked curtly. If the girl was some kind of teenage prankster, she just wanted to get the encounter over and done with. She had no time with other's tomfoolery.

The strange girl's smile wavered at the cold tone in Ms. Bernnet's voice.

"I'm sorry for dropping by so late, but are you Ms. Bernnet?"

Ms. Bernnet resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow. She was both interested and worried how this stranger had gotten a hold of her name and address. She knew better than to admit to anything without knowing the girl's identity and purpose for being there.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

The younger female frowned a little. Had she gotten the wrong address, or was this woman just being stubborn? When Mickey had asked to talked to some girl the villains had scared, he didn't mention what she would look like. The more she thought about it, the more she kicked herself for not asking.

"Uh… my name is Princess Jasmine. I gave you my autograph for your student a while ago?"

Ms. Bernnet wanted to hit something. Having random cartoon characters drop by out of the blue should _not_ be something a twenty-three year-old has to concern herself about. At the same time though, she knew resistance was futile.

Nodding her head, she moved to make room for Jasmine to step into the small apartment.

"Yes, that would be me. My apologies for not having thanked you for the gesture before now, I've been quite busy." She told the princess. 'Making sure cartoon villains don't break into my apartment!' she mentally added as an angry afterthought.

Jasmine's smile returned full forced as she stepped past her.

"Oh don't mention it! Did she like it?"

"Oh yes, very."

Jasmine's smile faltered as she took in Ms. Bernnet's living area. Even more so when she noticed she had left the front door unlocked.

"Um, shouldn't you…..?" she gestured to the door with her hand, not entirely sure what to make of the situation.

Ms. Bernnet heaved a weary sigh.

"No, if anyone wants to come in, they will." It was starting to become sad, _sad_ fact of her life. Oh, if her mother could see her now….

Jasmine gave Ms. Bernnet a sympathetic look, as if simply saying such a thing was something to be truly upset over.

"It's okay if they frightened you. They're very scary when they want to be."

Ms. Bernnet raised her eyebrows.

"I am afraid I have to disagree. I failed to find what made them so ….ah, _frightening_ as you say."

Jasmine went to put what was meant as a reassuring hand on Ms. Bernnet's shoulder.

"It's okay, you can say you were scared. Mickey told me all about how Maleficent was with you when you said that, but she's not here to make you say anything now. It's just you and me."

As if on cue, Jasmine was enveloped by two massive male arms.

"SISTER BEAR!"

"_EEEEK!"_

"Oh shit! You're not my sister!"

Ms. Bernnet sighed heavily, before straightening her back and glaring at the intruding third party with a near-murderous glare.

"Christopher…. ideal timing as always. I assume knocking has gone out of fashion, has it?"

The younger Bernnet had sprung away from Jasmine, eyes wide and arms stuck firmly to his side. His mouth opened and closed, making him somewhat resemble a floundering fish.

"I – you – what – SINCE WHEN DID YOU HAVE FRIENDS?"

Ms. Bernnet gave her brother a look that clearly displayed her disapproval for his raised voice.

"I. Don't."

Jasmine, having recovered from the shock of having a complete stranger squeeze her from behind, chose to speak up.

"That's terrible! If you want, you can count me as a friend!"

Both siblings raised their eyebrows at her. Chris somehow, managed not to look as condescending as his older sister.

"Well isn't that nice! And can I get a name to go with the face?" he grinned at the princess.

"Princess Jasmine of Agrabah."

Chris threw back his head and laughed loudly.

"OH! Ahaha! Oh that's funny! You sure know how to pick your friends sis! Not that you ever had any!" he grinned at Ms. Bernnet before turning back to a (once again) shocked Jasmine. "Haha! I can see where you're coming from with that! _Very_ convincing costume by the way! Nicely done!"

Jasmine hesitated. "I…ah…."I'm really….um…."

"Your highness."

Both heads snapped round to look at the older woman. She had been silant throughout Chris's and Jasmine's awkward meeting.

Ms. Bernnet looked both individuals in the face before continuing. She wanted to make sure she had their undivided attention. Satisfied, she turned back to the confused princess to continue.

"You most excuse my brother's idiocy. It is beyond his control."

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" he huffed. Ms. Bernnet resisted raising an eyebrow once again.

"Oh? Then please, point out the ways in which I resemble Princess Jasmine, in any way shape or form. I'm quite curious."

This time, it was Chris who hesitated.

"Well – uh – maybe… you changed your hairstyle?"

Ms. Bernent simply stared at him incredulously. For a few, long seconds, no-one dared to said anything.

"Twenty-two years," Ms. Bernnet drawled, breaking the fragile silence. "Twenty-two years you have been my brother, yet the sheer extend of your stupidity continues to astound me. It is both frightening and fascinating."

Chris couldn't say anything to that. So instead, he simply puffed out his cheeks and blew a raspberry at her.

"Charming," she quipped. Turning back to Jasmine, her mask of indifference was once more firmly set in place.

"My apologies for the interruption during our conversation. However, continuing on from the topic which we left off, I must tell you that you have been misinformed. I do not fear the 'villains' as you so fondly call them, nor did I ever. As you can see, there are currently none present, so I am being forced to say anything against my will as you originally, though I highly doubt I shall soon be returning to the House of Mouse. You are free to leave if you so wish."

Jasmine gulped, not quite sure what to do. Would Mickey be upset with her if she told him that this cold, somewhat scary woman wouldn't come back? Could she really have _not_ been intimidated by a room full of villains? Jasmine just couldn't see how it was possible. Still, she had tried.

Stepping away from Ms. Bernnet, Jasmine muttered a quick good-bye and made to leave – only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"Hold on there sec – what _villains_? Sis? What's going on?"

Ms. Bernnet fought the urge to face palm. How could she have been so dumb as to say all that in front of her brother? She knew how he liked to meddle!

As she looked over to the confused Arabian princess, she felt the smallest pang of sympathy towards the girl. Now that her brother was involved, there was no way he would leave either of them alone. Not for a while at least.

BANANA MONCKEYS!

(Hopefully that got your attention)

Poor Jasmine doesn't know what to make of the situation! Anyway, the next chapter should be up soon. If it's not, you have my permission to hunt me down and beat me fried chicken. XD

The next chapter will be much better. I promise! And leave a review please; it helps to hear constructive criticism!


	7. Where are your manners?

HI! I am SO SORRY it's taken me so long to update! The computer where I had started writing this chapter got a virus and _still_ has yet to be fixed! And it's not just this story either - almost of my other stories on hiatus till I get old computer back. The only reason I've decided to re-write this chapter is because I wasn't too crazy about the first draft. Though be warned: when I DO get the first draft back on old computer (which will hopefully be before I die of old age), I may re-write this chapter again in order to incorporate some of the going-on's in the first draft.

As for my other stories on hiatus, I will be re-writing story chapters that I wasn't so proud of before, including my peter pan fanfic Peter Pan: Utter Insanity. As for my other Disney story, The Outsiders, an apology in advance to those waiting on the next chapter. I promise the next chapter is going to be REALLY long, so I don't want to have re-write the whole thing again, especially after I had _just_ managed to write it to a quality I'm satisfied with (proofreading something five times is a real bitch, let me tell you, and that's just because my grammar has a tendency to suck first time round).

So…yeah, not much else I can do. Don't really have anything else to say, other than I hate my computer, and I'm starting to think it doesn't really like me all that much either. : P

Diclaimer: If only I did own Disney…. Disney would be screwed.

Taking small sips of her water, Ms. Bernnet couldn't help but wonder how things had reached this stage - wait, no that was a lie. She knew _exactly_ what had happen, for a lady _never_ lost control of a situation. However, she was forced to admit that things certainly hadn't turned out how she had wished, in any way shape or form.

In an ideal world, She would never have stumbled across the establishment she now found herself in. Henceforth, she wouldn't have Disney villains breaking into her apartment, or (supposedly) fictional Arabian princesses dropping by to escort her to said establishment. Most importantly, she wouldn't have found herself in the situation she was now facing.

Okay, maybe she had let things a bit out of hand, but she would never admit that out loud. Hell, she would probably never admit to herself either for that matter.

Ms. Bernnet found herself being forced from her thoughts as her brother Chris tugged at her arm.

"Sis! I had no idea there was Disney role-play restaurant near you! And I definitely didn't think you'd be into this kind of thing sister bear! I'm surprised!" He leant forward a bit, elbows resting on the table Daisy had shown them two. Jasmine had all but disappeared the moment they set foot through the door, saying she was off to tell Mickey something and promised to be right back. This only served to confuse Chris even more than he had already been, but he chose not to comment on it at that point in time. A wise move on his part.

Setting her glass down, Ms. Bernnet tapped Chris's elbows so that he knew not to rest them on the table. She loathed poor table manners.

"Mmm, yes, so you seem to be."

Chris's eyes scanned the moving crowd from their secluded spot in the club, eyes shining like a toddler given an extra piece of candy.

"Look at all these costumes sis! They all look so real! Especially the animals! What do you think they are, holograms or robots? I hope they're robots! Hey, do you think everyone works here? Were we supposed to come in costume? I hope not, or I'm going to start feeling really stupid for wearing my work clothes!"

Ms. Bernnet suppressed a chuckle as her brother rambled, but a close look would reveal the tiniest tug of her lips in what could be described as the world's smallest grin.

"I see you still have yet to abandon your childish musings. I must confess I wonder if you will ever act your age."

Chris gave her a playful pout, forcing an obviously fake expression of hurt on his face.

"How mean of you! Besides, you're only as old as you feel!"

"So would you say you are six years old, or seven?"

Chris's eyes bulged and threw himself back in his chair, clutching his chest in an exaggerated show of being wounded.

"Sister bear! How can you say such cruel things?" He then threw his head back laughing, earning more than a few curious stares from other patrons. This quickly set Ms. Bernnet's nerves on edge.

"Christopher Jonathan Bernnet! You ought to know better than to be so loud in a public place!"

"Aw shucks, it's alright!"

She immediately tensed.

Christopher gaped.

Mickey stood there staring between the two of them.

"_So-o_ how's your food?"

Chris leaned closer to the giant mouse, eyes narrowed in curiosity and fascination. He stood and started circling Mickey, seeming to look for something before throwing his hands into the air.

"Wow sis, this is the most realistic robot I've ever seen! I can't even see any wires or where they the batteries! It's so cool!"

Mickey exchanged a look with Ms. Bernnet, who busy using every ounce of her will to not sigh in relief …or face palm at her brother's show of stupidity. Really, she should be used to it by now.

Squaring her shoulders, she gave Mickey a subtle shake of the head as if to say '_Do not_ correct him if you please.' Micky caught it, but was clearly still beyond confused.

"Yes Christopher, it is indeed. Now if you would be so kind as to remain seated during supper? You are drawing unwanted attention from other tables."

Christopher winced at her clipped tone. Craning his neck over his shoulder, he found his older sister was quite right - people both sitting and walking past were shooting him all sorts of expression, from interested to surprised to just plain confused - and he couldn't help but wonder why the mixed reaction. It would make sense since his sister was regular here (after all, a staff member _did _drop by her house and insist they both come), but she was never the chatty type that made friends with a whole lot of people.

'Hmm, something _else_ is going on here, and I bet it has nothing to do with robots.' he thought.

"-opher?"

The young male jumped, earning a small chuckle from the Mickey-Mouse-robot-something. Flashing a big grin at …ah, _it, _he put on his best kicked-puppy expression when turning to face 'Sister Bear'.

"Do not even try that to gain an advantage with that expression Mr. Bernnet! I am sorely disappointed in you! Your table mannerisms have done naught but deteriorate since our last meal together! Mother and Father taught you better!"

"Aw shucks Ms, how can you be so mean to face like that?"

Trying to gain favor with Mickey, Chris slumped his shoulders and pouted a little. Ms. Bernnet held back a snort.

"Not to be rude Mr. Mouse, but he is a grown man who by far more capable of acting like the adult he is, rather than the child he wishes he was."

Mickey put on his own hurt look - complete with oversized shiny eyes, tail between the legs, and exaggerated pout and shoulder slump. Chris kneeled down so that both males were practically the same height, with their hands behind their backs and looking towards Ms. Berrent with cuteness in full-force.

Ms. Bernnet could swear she felt her eyebrow twitching all on it's own.

"Christopher?"

Chris's eyes widened just a fraction. "Yes dearest sister-bear?"

"Kindly get off the floor, and resume dinner if you please."

Giving a defeated sigh, Chris dropped the act and stood back up to his full height.

"You're so mean sister bear! You need to have fun more!"

"Yeah babe, just chill."

Ms. Bernnet felt her blood run cold. Three sets of eyes turned to face the source of the new voice. A crooked grin spread across the eavesdropper's already quite frightening face as he extended a hand towards Christopher.

"Name's Hades, Lord of the Underworld. Hey, how'ya doin', who are you? Sunshine's brother I'm guessing? I can see the family resemblance. Got a name kiddo? "

The three of them stared.

Hades waved a hand in Christopher's face. "Are ya' gonna say something or are you just gonna stand there looking stupid?"

Then something unexpected happened.

Chris laughed. Not only did he laugh, but he grabbed Hade's hand and gave it a rough, hearty shake.

Dropping the Greek God's hand, he spun on his heel to grin at his sister and point his thumb at the aforementioned villain.

"Sis! Can you _see_ this? His costume looks so real! His head looks like it's _actually _on fire!"

It was all Ms. Bernnet could do not to step _just a little closer so she could slap some sense into her brother. Not for the first time, she wondered how one person could be so dense. How he graduate high school was a mystery, never mind college._

_Hades and Mickey exchanged a look that clearly read :What?_

_Letting out a small, barely audible sigh, she rummaged around in her purse for her wallet. Pulling out several bills, she wordlessly walked over to Mickey, placed the money in his palm, gently (but firmly) took hold of Chris's wrist, and guided (dragged) him out of the building before he further make an ass out of himself (regardless of his rather loud protests)._

_Hades and Mickey blinked._

"_Hey Mick?"_

"_Uh…yes Hades?"_

"_What in the name of the Underworld just happened?"_

"_I…I have no idea."_


End file.
